Health consequences of involuntary exposure to benzene following a flaring incident at British Petroleum refinery in Texas City

American Journal of Disaster Medicine
Mark A D'AndreaG Kesava Reddy

Abstract

Environmental exposure to benzene can lead to deleterious effects on many biological systems including blood-forming organs, liver, and kidneys. The authors sought to investigate the health consequences of benzene exposure following a flaring incident that occurred at the British Petroleum (BP) refinery in Texas City, TX. A cohort of subjects who were exposed to a daily sustained release of toxic chemicals including more than 7,711 kg (17,000 lb) of benzene for a total duration of 40 days due to BP's flaring incident. Not applicable to an observational study. Subjects who underwent physical and clinical evaluation between June 2010 and October 2012 were included. Demographic and clinical laboratory data were collected and analyzed. Hematologic data such as white blood cell (WBC) counts, platelet counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine levels in the serum were evaluated. In addition, data on alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), and alanine amino transferase (ALT) levels in the serum were examined. Urinary phenol was evaluated as a benzene metabolite. The outcomes were compared between exposed and unexposed patients. A total of 200 subjects (benzene exposed, n = 100 and ...Continue Reading

Citations

Feb 18, 2016·Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness·Mark A D'Andrea, G Kesava Reddy
Sep 8, 2017·Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness·Mark A D'Andrea, G Kesava Reddy
Oct 7, 2014·Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine·Jianshu HuangYuanling Zhou

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